Sri Lanka geared up for their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 final against the Netherlands with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over West Indies.
Opening batters Pathum Nissanka (104) and Dimuth Karunaratne (83) did the bulk of the damage to chase down 243 after Keacy Carty (87) had dragged Windies to a respectable target.
Victory means Sri Lanka remain unbeaten in Zimbabwe, and now face one final hurdle in Netherlands to be crowned Qualifier champions.
Openers fire Sri Lanka to victory
Pathum Nissanka hit the third ODI century of his career as Sri Lanka cruised to an eight-wicket victory over West Indies.
Nissanka hit 104 runs off 113 balls as part of a 190-run opening stand with Dimuth Karunaratne that took the game away from West Indies.
Kusal Mendis (34) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (17) did the rest to easily reach their target of 244, for which Windies had Keacy Carty (87) to thank after Maheesh Theekshana (4/34) had ripped through much of their top order.
West Indies had started strongly, racing to 31 from their first four overs before Theekshana conceded just two from his first over and cleaned up Brandon King (10) in his second.
The spinner struck again in his third, Shamarh Brooks (2) nicking behind before captain Shai Hope (2) became his third victim from his fourth over, pinned leg before.
Opener Johnson Charles (39) was next back to the hutch an over later, trapped leg before by Matheesha Pathirana to leave Windies floundering on 62 for four.
But Carty and Nicholas Pooran (14) led the fightback, as the pair stopped the flurry of wickets until Dushan Hemantha accounted for Pooran to further drag West Indies into the mire at 81 for five.
Carty, having survived a dropped catch on nine, kept the scoreboard ticking over and dragged his side to 123 for seven by the time Sahan Arachchige bowled Kyle Mayers (18) and Hemantha trapped Roston Chase (1) leg before.
Late contributions from Romario Shepherd (26) and Kevin Sinclair (25) then pulled Windies towards 250 before Carty fell 12 balls from the end to leave his side 243 all out.
Having perhaps been disappointed to let West Indies reach almost 250, Sri Lanka began their chase quickly, bringing up 50 inside nine overs before Nissanka reached his 10th ODI half century in as many balls in the 16th over.
Opening partner Karunaratne soon followed, bringing up his 50 with four as Sri Lanka cantered towards their total.
Windies tried mightily to break the partnership, rotating through six bowlers in search of a way through, but the pair proved impenetrable as they brought up the 150 stand in the 28th over.
Nissanka then brought up his century with just under 20 overs remaining before eventually holing out to mid-wicket off the bowling of Kevin Sinclair.
But the fall of the first wicket failed to stem the flow of runs, as Mendis picked up the scoring baton, bringing up the 200 with a four before Karunaratne was trapped leg before by Akeal Hosein.
It left Mendis and Samarawickrama to bring the chase home, doing so in style with 34 balls remaining to send Sri Lanka into Sunday's final with their unbeaten record intact.
Sri Lanka and Netherlands face off in final
After almost a month of absorbing action, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 comes to a close on Sunday, as Sri Lanka and the Netherlands fight it out for the right to be crowned champions.
Both sides have already claimed their main prize, a place in India next October for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 but neither will want to end their time in Zimbabwe with defeat.
Sri Lanka were comfortable victors when the two sides met in the Super Six just over a week ago, but Netherlands are fresh from their thrilling victory over Scotland and will hope their momentum can help them to victory.
Scores in brief
Sri Lanka beat West Indies by eight wickets at Harare Sports Club, Harare
West Indies 243 all out in 48.1 overs (Keacy Carty 87, Johnson Charles 39; Maheesh Theekshana 4/34, Dushan Hemantha 2/49)
Sri Lanka 244/2 in 44.2 overs (Pathum Nissanka 104, Dimuth Karunaratne 83; Kevin Sinclair 1/52, Akeal Hosein 1/54)
Sunday 9 July – Fixtures
Final
Sri Lanka v Netherlands at Harare Sports Club
Sri Lanka were truly tested for the first time at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023, but big performances from Dhananjaya de Silva and Maheesh Theekshana got them out of trouble against the Netherlands.
Dhananjaya made 93, his best ODI score, to help Sri Lanka recover from 96 for six to make 213.
And Theekshana then took three wickets in the space of two overs to derail the Dutch chase in a 21-run victory.
The Netherlands signalled their intent from the very first ball of their clash with Sri Lanka, with Pathum Nissanka sent on his way for a duck by Logan van Beek.
That was part of a dream start for the Dutch, who quickly had the Sri Lankans 34 for four as Van Beek (3/26) showed his skill with the ball four days on from his heroics with the bat against the West Indies.
It required a sensational knock from Dhananjaya de Silva to get Sri Lanka to 213 all out, and even that did not look like it would be anywhere near enough.
However, just as the Netherlands seemed to be on track in reply, Maheesh Theekshana (3/31) swung the momentum with three quick wickets as the Netherlands eventually fell 21 runs short.
They had started so well. Nissanka departed after just one ball, before Ryan Klein had Kusal Mendis (10) trapped in front in the fourth over.
Van Beek added Sadeera Samarawickrama (1) and Charith Asalanka (2), bringing Dhananjaya to the crease.
He began to rebuild with Dimuth Karunaratne, who then fell for 33, with skipper Dasun Shanaka then departing for five, Saqib Zulfiqar (2/48) accounting for both men.
Wanindu Hasaranga provided some useful runs, making 20 in a 35-run stand with Dhananjaya. And after he fell LBW to Bas de Leede (3/42), Theekshana joined Dhananjaya.
The duo added 77 runs, taking Sri Lanka past 200 before both getting out in the space of three deliveries.
A target of 214 was certainly in reach for the Dutch, albeit on a tricky wicket for the batters.
Their cause was not helped by both openers falling for ducks, Lahiru Kumara removing Vikramjit Singh and Dilshan Madushanka accounting for Max O’Dowd.
However, a 77-run partnership between Wesley Barresi (52) and De Leede (41) got the chase back on track. It was ended by some sharp work in the field by Shanaka, with Barresi short of his ground while trying to steal a single.
Teja Nidamanuru then became the third Dutch batter to go for a duck, bowled by Hasaranga. In came Scott Edwards and the skipper quickly settled in alongside De Leede, the pair adding 36 in six overs.
Sri Lanka were in desperate need of a breakthrough and it came from Theekshana, who snuck one through the defences of De Leede.
He added two more in his next over, including the vital wicket of Van Beek, before another run-out saw Shariz Ahmed depart for two, leaving the Netherlands on 151 for eight.
Edwards and Ryan Klein added 25, inching closer with the required rate not an issue, but a perfect wrong’un from Hasaranga was too good for Klein (5).
That left the final pair with 38 to get in 17 overs and the in-form Edwards helped get them close, but the skipper was left stranded unbeaten on 67 when Aryan Dutt was clean bowled by Shanaka.
With Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe both on six points, the West Indies will have to beat Scotland on Saturday to stay in contention to make it to the World Cup. If they lose, the most points they can end up with is four.
Former South Africa quick and current Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach Dale Steyn shared an interesting story on how the Proteas helped preserve West Indies legend Brian Lara's record for the highest individual score in Tests.
Notably, Lara recently celebrated the 19th anniversary of the day he scored the historic knock (400*) against England in Antigua in 2004.
Speaking on the franchise’s YouTube channel, Steyn stated that Lara, head coach of SRH, got nostalgic about his record innings.
He further revealed the chain of events on how Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene was on the verge of breaking the historic record in a match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2006.
"I literally just looked at him (Brian Lara) and said, 'You're welcome. You still have your record due to South Africa’. Mahela (Jayawardene) and (Kumar) Sangakkara are batting together, Sangakkara is on strike. We never sniffed a wicket in that entire time,” Steyn said.
“At Tea on day three, we'd been fielding for two and a half days in the sun. Ashwell (Prince, who was captain on the tour) and the South Africans all get together and our team talk was not about how we're gonna draw or win this game. Mahela was on 370 somewhere and we just said, 'We need to do anything possible to make sure he didn't break Brian Lara’s record,” he added.
As the Sri Lankan closed in on the record, South Africa somehow managed to dismiss him just 26 runs short.
"We come out of tea. Andre Nel is the bowler. And I’ve been fielding at mid-off for most of this game. I’d seen everything happen in this game at mid-off. I think he had run every milestone to me. I think he just blocked the ball and ran to me at this point,” shared Steyn.
“Nel ran in, he dragged one short, it was halfway down the pitch. I basically looked at the square leg because the bulk of the time that was where the ball was going. And for some crazy weird reason this ball didn’t get higher than ankle height and it castled Mahela’s stumps and we got him out for 374", he concluded.
While Lara’s 400* is still intact, Jayawardene’s 374 remains the fourth-highest individual score in Test history.
Meanwhile, Lara, who has scores of 400* and 375, features in the top-four list twice, whereas Matthew Hayden's 380-run knock against Zimbabwe in 2003 is the second-highest individual score in Test history.
Dimuth Karunaratne wants to step down as Sri Lanka captain following the Test series against Ireland next month.
The opening batter revealed after a hammering by an innings and 58 runs in the second Test against New Zealand that he has offered his resignation.
Karunaratne, who was appointed in 2019, hopes his reign will come to an end after the second and final match of the series versus Ireland in Galle.
He said: "I've talked with the selectors about stepping down as captain after the Ireland series. In the next WTC cycle, you've got to do two years.
"I think it's best if a new captain does that whole cycle than for me to do half and hand over. I've talked to the selectors about this, but I haven't got a response yet. My preference is to handover to a new leader after the next series."
Karunaratne made half-centuries in both innings of a heavy defeat to the Black Caps at Basin Reserve, which consigned the tourists to a 2-0 defeat.
The 34-year-old was not content with his knocks of 89 and 51 in Wellington.
"I played Tests after eight months. I only got to play one innings in a four-day match in between," Karunaratne said.
"!'m someone who gets a big one after getting a start, so I think I don't have that patience at the moment, and I need to go back to domestic cricket and develop that again.
"After eight months, although I made some runs here, I could have done more, I think. Twice, I think I could have turned half-centuries into hundreds, and I wasted them."
New Zealand captain Tim Southee described Kane Williamson as "world-class" after he led them to a dramatic final-ball win against Sri Lanka in the first Test at the Hagley Oval.
After rain delays on the final day on Monday, the hosts eventually began play on 28-1, needing a further 257 runs to win from 52 overs.
That effectively turned the innings into one more akin to an ODI, and both teams approached it as such
Williamson, who was dismissed for just one in the first innings, was the fulcrum for the chase as he hit 121 from 194 balls, with various partners showing more aggression after opener Tom Latham had fallen for 24.
Williamson and Daryl Mitchell (81 from 86) put on 142 for the fourth wicket, before Asitha Fernando (3-63) started taking wickets to set up a tense ending.
New Zealand still needed eight runs from the final over with just three wickets remaining, with Matt Henry then run out from the third ball.
With the last delivery of the match, Williamson and the injured Neil Wagner desperately ran through a bye to win it, with the former only getting his bat in marginally as Sri Lanka produced a direct hit at the stumps at the non-striker's end.
"Seeing how calm Kane is out in the middle keeps us calm as well," Southee said after the win. "He's a world-class player and world-class players are able to perform in different conditions.
"The guys were very trusting in what he was going to do and, alongside Daryl, for most of the day it was a great partnership that got us in that great position."
The defeat for Sri Lanka meant they were unable to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final, with India taking that spot against Australia.
It gave the Black Caps their third-highest successful chase in Test cricket (285), and their second remarkable Test win in recent weeks after the one-run victory against England last month.
The second Test in Wellington gets underway on Friday.
West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets in a low-scoring thriller at the Western Province Cricket Club in Cape Town Wednesday.
The World Test Championship final will take place at The Oval between June 7 and 11, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed.
There will also be a reserve day on June 12 if necessary as the top two Test sides do battle to see who will lift the mace as world Test champions.
Those two teams are yet to be finalised, although Australia currently top the rankings while India, who they meet in a four-Test series starting on February 9, are second.
Sri Lanka and South Africa sit third and fourth respectively, with the latter set to take on reigning champions New Zealand in a two-Test series in February.
England are in hot pursuit in fifth after winning eight of their past nine Test matches, while West Indies also have a slim chance of making the final.
New Zealand's hopes of retaining the title they claimed by beating India by eight wickets in Southampton in 2021 are already over, having won just two Test matches since that famous victory.
Virat Kohli is "playing for the right reasons" after his unbeaten 166 led India to a 317-run victory over Sri Lanka.
Kohli, India's former captain, has been in sparkling form in recent months. Since the start of the T20 World Cup in October, the 34-year-old has scored 706 runs across 12 white-ball matches (six T20Is, six ODIs).
It was his knock on Sunday at Greenfield International Stadium, combined with Shubman Gill's 116, that paved the way for India to wrap up a 3-0 series win.
Kohli's 166 not out came from 110 deliveries and included 21 boundaries, eight of which were sixes – the most maximums he has struck in a single innings across any format in international cricket.
He is now just three tons short of Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 49 ODI centuries, but Kohli is not interested in personal milestones.
"It is the by-product of the intent I have, my mindset is to help the team, and put the team in strong position," Kohli said after winning the Player of the Series and Player of the Match awards.
"I have played for the right reasons and that has helped. Ever since I came back from the break, I am feeling good and I don't have desperation to get to a milestone.
"I want to continue doing that and I'm content. I was happy to be batting out there and in that space I end up playing good cricket.
"I am in a nice space right now, it's just about being organic."
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of India's bowlers as Sri Lanka were reduced to 73 all out, taking 4-32, while Mohammed Shami took 2-20.
"Shami has always been there for us with the new ball, but the way Siraj has come in and done with the new ball has been fantastic," Kohli added.
"He picks wickets in the powerplay, which was an issue in the past. It is a great sign for us heading into the World Cup."
Siraj said: "I was trying hard to pick up a five-for but you get only what is written in your destiny, however hard you try. My rhythm has been good for a long time."
India have enjoyed a dominant series, and captain Rohit Sharma had little to be displeased about.
"I thought it was a great series for us," he said. "We bowled pretty well, got wickets, got breakthroughs when we needed. Batters throughout the series were piling up those runs."
Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill inspired India with the bat before Mohammed Siraj dismantled Sri Lanka in a thumping 317-run victory.
India had already wrapped up the series heading into the third and final ODI at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Yet they made sure of a whitewash with a stunning performance with both bat and ball, as Sri Lanka endured a dismal day, with Ashen Bandara and Jeffrey Vandersay having to be taken off on stretchers.
After captain Rohit Sharma fell for 42, Gill (116) and Kohli (166 not out) put on a second-wicket partnership of 131 to pave the way for victory.
Gill succumbed to Kasun Rajitha (2-81) in the 34th over, having plundered 16 boundaries, but Kohli stayed in place throughout India's innings, striking eight sixes and 13 fours in a sublime knock.
Support came from Shreyas Iyer (38) as India set Sri Lanka, who lost both Vandersay and Bandara after the pair collided with each other in the field, a target of 391.
With only nine wickets to play with, the odds were stacked against the tourists, and Sri Lanka's slim hopes were over when Siraj (4-32) ripped through their top order.
Nuwanidu Fernando (19) was their top scorer, with Kasun Rajitha remaining unbeaten on 13 as Mohammed Shami (2-20) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-16) finishied the job for India.
Kohli lets rip to close in on Tendulkar
It was a magnificent knock by Kohli, who scored 113 in the first ODI of the series and ended it on a high note.
Kohli, who was playing against Sri Lanka in an ODI for the 50th time, now has 46 hundreds in the 50-over format, three short of the tally of India great Sachin Tendulkar.
His unbeaten 166 came from 110 deliveries, while his eight sixes marked the most he has struck in a single innings across all formats of international cricket.
Record up for India
India have now won 96 ODIs against Sri Lanka.
That means they have set a new record for the number of wins against a single opponent, surpassing Australia's total of 95 victories against New Zealand.
Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets apiece for India before KL Rahul's unbeaten half-century sealed a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka to seal the ODI series.
The tourists collapsed from 102-1 to 215 all out in the 40th over after Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
That was not enough to avoid going 2-0 down, KL Rahul top scoring with an unbeaten 64 to get India home with 40 balls to spare.
Nuwanidu Fernando made 50 on his debut, putting on 73 with Kusal Mendis (34) before Sri Lanka's batting frailties were exposed.
Dhananjaya de Silva was bowled first ball by Axar Patel after Kuldeep (3-51) trapped Kusal leg before and Dunith Wellalage (32) got a start but fell to Siraj.
Umran Malik (2-48) also made an impact with the ball and Siraj (3-39) finished off the innings by cleaning up Lahiru Kumara.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gil made only 17 and 21 respectively before Virat Kohli played on to a delivery from Kumara for just four after making a century in the first ODI.
India were 86-4 in the 15th over when Shreyas Iyer departed, but Rahul and Hardik Pandya (36) steadied the ship.
Sri Lanka were in still in with a chance of levelling the series after Chamika Karunaratne (2-51) saw the back of Pandya and Axar fell for 21, but Rahul and Kuldeep saw India home.
Promising start for Nuwanidu
It was an impressive start to his international career for 23-year-old opening batter Nuwanidu.
He struck six boundaries in an assured 63-ball knock at the top of the order against an excellent attack.
Nuwanidu will be kicking himself over the manner of his soft dismissal, Charith Asalanka sending him back after he set off for a run that was never there.
Rahul holds India run chase together
It was the experienced Rahul who provided the glue to keep India's run chase together in the middle of the order.
After coming in at number five, he spent over two and half hours at the crease in a responsible innings, waiting for any loose deliveries as he found the rope just six times and rotated the strike well.
That is 12 ODI wins in 13 matches at home to Sri Lanka for India and 10 multi-game bilateral series victories out of 11 over the Asia Cup champions on home soil.
Virat Kohli's 45th ODI century helped India to a comfortable 67-run victory over Sri Lanka at ACA Stadium on Tuesday.
Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who scored a double century in India's previous ODI last year, were surprisingly dropped for the first of three one-day matches.
But India had few issues without them, as Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma led them to an unassailable 373-7.
Gill and Rohit enjoyed a little luck, surviving lbw reviews, but went on to stage a fine opening stand of 143 to put the tourists firmly on the back foot right.
Dasun Shanaka (1-22) eventually accounted for Gill in the 20th over, and an inside edge saw Rohit snaffled by Dilshan Madushanka (1-43) not long after.
But then Kohli arrived to deliver his 73rd international century in all formats.
He, too, benefited from some fortune, dropped on 52 and 81, but Kohli was otherwise in irresistible form with 13 boundaries to eventually finish on 113 off just 87 balls, finally taken by Kasun Rajitha (3-88) when a big slog fell short.
Sri Lanka were always facing an uphill struggle as they moved into bat.
Pathum Nissanka's 72 off 80 was a decent opening effort, but they needed more.
Dhananjaya de Silva (47 off 40) injected some purpose before edging a Mohammed Shami delivery behind to Rahul, and Nissanka followed in the 31st over after slicing Umran Malik (3-57) to Axar Patel at midwicket.
Skipper Shanaka offered late resistance with a tremendous unbeaten 108, finishing with two boundaries, but it was far too late to change the outcome.
India have too much for Sri Lanka
One of the key differences here was India's brilliant efficiency with the bat. All but one of their nine batsmen recorded a strike rate of over 100, and five of those scored over 25 runs.
By contrast, only three Sri Lanka batters had such a strike rate, with Shanaka and De Silva the two to surpass 25.
A bad day for Sri Lanka's bowlers
Rajitha was the only Sri Lanka bowler to claim more than one wicket, and yet even his overs proved fairly expensive as he gave up 88 runs.
Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (0-67) and Dunith Wellalage (0-65) also had particular difficulty at a ground that is, to be fair, known for being generous for scoring.
Rohit Sharma put the onus on Suryakumar Yadav to bring his T20I form across to the 50-over format ahead of India's series against Sri Lanka.
India take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series starting at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.
It comes off the back of India beating their sub-continental rivals 2-1 in a T20I series that went down to the last match, which was decided by Suryakumar's superb unbeaten 112 from 51 deliveries.
Suryakumar is number one in the ICC T20I batting rankings, and Rohit is the only player to have scored more tons in the format than the 32-year-old.
However, Suryakumar's form in the shortest format does not guarantee him a place in India's 50-over side, especially with a World Cup looming.
"The problem happens when we start comparing different formats," Rohit told reporters.
"We have to look who has done well in ODI cricket for us, what situation they have done well in. They have been under pressure, and they have gone in, batted and scored runs.
"All those things you need to take into account before making that call.
"I do understand the form as well. Form is important, but the format is also important. The 50-over format is a different format, slightly longer than the T20 format, and the guys who have performed in ODIs will definitely get a run. We are very clear in what we want to do."
Suryakumar enjoyed a fine start to his ODI career but has tapered off, and in his past 10 matches he has averaged only 15 in the format.
He is likely to compete with Shreyas Iyer for a place in the side against Sri Lanka.
Iyer has scored 724 runs in men's ODIs since the beginning of 2022, the most by any batter in the period, while he averages 54 against Sri Lanka.
India will definitely be without star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has suffered a setback in his recovery from a back injury.
History on India's side
India have won five of their last six ODIs against Sri Lanka, although their only loss during this period came in the sides' most recent encounter on July 2021.
Sri Lanka have lost 93 times to India in the format, with New Zealand the only side to have lost more times to a single opponent (Australia – 95).
Rohit's happy hunting ground
India skipper Rohit scored an unbeaten 152 runs the last time India played in Guwahati (vs West Indies). Rohit struck eight sixes that day, the most by any player at this ground.
India will be without Jasprit Bumrah for their ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Bumrah, who needs more time to recover from a back injury he suffered before the T20 World Cup last year, is also set to miss much of India's Test series against Australia, which starts on February 9.
The news of Bumrah's setback was confirmed on Monday, on the eve of Rohit Sharma's team taking on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series.
"It's an unfortunate incident with [Bumrah]," said India captain Rohit.
"The poor guy has been working very hard all this time. Just when he got back to full fitness, he started bowling and everything, the last two days I think this incident happened where he felt a little bit of stiffness in his back.
"It's nothing major, it's just stiffness. But when Bumrah says anything we have to be very cautious about it. I thought it was important for us to make that decision then to just pull him out.
"When we named him [in the squad], he was in the process of getting his workload done. We need to be very careful with him. He had a major injury before the [T20] World Cup. So we just need to be careful."
Suryakumar Yadav played a virtuoso innings for India as his rapid century set up a series-clinching 91-run victory against Sri Lanka in Rajkot.
In the third T20I, a one-sided tussle at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Yadav blazed his way to 112 not out from 51 balls as India piled up 228-5, setting the tourists a daunting target. He got to three figures from just 45 deliveries.
India then limited Sri Lanka to 137 all out, sealing a 2-1 series success after the teams split the first two matches, both far tighter affairs than this spectacle.
Yadav's third T20I century contained nine sixes and seven fours, as he went after Sri Lanka's attack and flayed them unrelentingly. Coming in at 52-2 after 5.5 overs, Yadav followed his 117 against England last July and his 111 against New Zealand in November with another devastatingly brutal innings.
Shubman Gill (46), Rahul Tripathi (35) and Axar Patel (21no) performed well, but it was the Yadav show and they were merely a supporting cast.
Sri Lanka needed a fast start, and they got that, but openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka both fell with the team score at 44, and Avishka Fernando followed soon after.
Wickets kept tumbling and it became clear Sri Lanka would not find a Yadav-like effort from within their ranks, with Arshdeep Singh finishing the rout by bowling Dilshan Madushanka to complete match-best figures of 3-20.
Sri Lanka find no answer to India assault
This was India's fourth-biggest win, by runs, in T20Is. Their heaviest win remains the 143-run victory over Ireland in Dublin in 2018, followed by a 101-run win over Afghanistan in Dubai in 2022 and a 93-run success against South Africa in 2017.
Yadav closes in on Rohit
India captain Rohit Sharma, who has missed this series with a finger injury, is the only man to have hit more T20I centuries than Yadav, who showed why he is number one on the ICC T20I batting rankings.
Rohit has four tons in the short format, with Yadav now one of four men with three by his name, along with Australia's Glenn Maxwell, New Zealand's Colin Munro, and Sabawoon Davizi, who has achieved the feat with the Czech Republic.
Dasun Shanaka blasted a rapid unbeaten half-century and held his nerve when bowling the final over as Sri Lanka beat India by 16 runs to level the Twenty20 International series.
Captain Shanaka bludgeoned 56 not out off only 22 balls to get the tourists up to 206-6 at the MCA Stadium on Thursday.
Kusal Mendis (52 from 31) also made a quickfire half-century, while Charith Asalanka struck 37 and Pathum Nissanka 33 two days after India edged the first T20I by two runs.
India looked to be heading for a hammering when they slumped to 57-5 in reply, the impressive Kasun Rajitha (2-22) removing openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill.
But a sixth-wicket stand of 91 between Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav kept them in the hunt, the spinner having also taken 2-24 after he kept it tight in the last over to seal victory in the opening match.
Dilshan Madushanka (2-45) removed Yadav (51 off 36) in the 16th over, yet Axar flexed his muscles with support from Shivam Mavi to give India a chance of pulling off an unlikely win.
With 21 needed off the final over, Shanaka dismissed Axar (65 off 31) and Mavi (26) with two of the only six balls he delivered to set up a decider in Rajkot on Saturday.
Shanaka steps up to lead by example
Sri Lanka had lost four wickets for 30 runs when Shanaka arrived at the crease, but the skipper took control of the situation with a swashbuckling knock.
He cleared the rope six times, Mavi and Umran Malik coming in for some treatment as 77 runs were scored in the final five overs.
Shanaka then took responsibility to bowl the last over and clearly thrived on the pressure, with Axar caught in the deep and Mavi taken by Maheesh Theekshana off the last ball.
Axar shows all-round capabilities
Spinner Axar was excellent with the ball, giving little away and taking two wickets.
He threatened to get India home with a brilliant knock to make a game of it, hitting six sixes and three fours. He was unable to deliver more final-over heroics, though, as India fell short.
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